A decision support system for project delivery method selection in the transit industry

The US government annually spends billions of dollars on transit projects. State transit agencies as the owners of these projects hire designers, construction contractors, vendors, and consultants to execute the project. An appropriate project delivery method can assist them in achieving the project goals. A project delivery method (PDM) is a framework of all project stakeholders' legal relationships and responsibilities. The delivery method selection should be based on a systematic approach that includes all available PDMs and all of the project's qualitative and quantitative characteristics that may be influenced by the delivery method option. This dissertation provides a comprehensive solution for this common challenge in the transit industry. The decision support system (DSS) developed in this research provides useful information and introduces the advantages and limitations of each PDM to the decision makers. A requisite well-structured decision making process is embedded in the proposed framework of this decision aid tool that is reliable and sufficient to solve the problem of selecting an appropriate PDM.The dissertation covers all the available PDMs (i.e. Design-Bid-Build (DBB), Design-Build (DB), Construction Management at Risk (CMR), and Public-Private Partnership (PPP)). A comprehensive set of critical issues are defined in this dissertation and advantages/disadvantages of each delivery method is thoroughly studied with respect to these issues. Multi-attribute decision tools are also applied as another approach to select a PDM. Using quantitative risk analysis and concentrating on the effects of PDM option on the project risks is studied in this research effort.Highlighting the financial aspects of PDM selection is another core element of this dissertation in which some concepts such as Value for Money and Public Sector Comparator are explained and incorporated. The details of Net Present Value (NPV) calculation for PPP and conventional methods and its implementation to a hypothetical project are presented in this dissertation. Several interviews and case studies were conducted to collect relevant information on the state of practice in the US transit industry and validate the developed system at the end.